Simple rules for an eye-catching exhibition banner

If you have a great product its quality will speak for itself when you are at an exhibition. Your first job is drawing people’s attention to it, and to do this you need a stand that makes people stop in their tracks. An essential element of this is an eye-catching banner. But if you’re not a designer it can be difficult to know where to start in making it look attractive and professional. The following tips should help, whether you’re a novice or just need to freshen up your approach to your exhibition stand.

Get the font right
The font of your banner will speak volumes. Aim to choose something bold yet simple. It’s tempting to go for a mix of fonts or for something fancy, however, remember that in a crowded room or at a distance an ornate italic font will not be easy to read.

Serif fonts are the ones you find with lines on the ends of letters, like Times New Roman for example. It is argued that they work better in a long body of text, which is why they are commonly used in newspapers, whereas headlines are usually in sans (without) serif fonts. If you are going to use a serif font make it a simple one.

What does a font say about your company or business?

If you do use a quirky or whimsical font because that is the nature of your business then feel free to do so as it is a great way to draw attention to your stand. It might be people of a younger age that you’re trying to attract. Remember that some whimsical fonts are not taken as seriously as others – Comic Sans is especially guilty of dividing opinion. Designers hate it and there have even been Facebook campaigns to ban the font. Who knew typefaces could be so controversial!

You might want to use the font that is used for your company branding or logo as people find that it shows a professional quality and consistency. Keeping images down to a minimum avoids crowding the banner, but adding something like your company logo can make it more memorable and give people more of an idea about what your stand is offering.

Good use of colour

It’s a good idea to use colours which match your company branding; this will give a consistent feel and promote your brand identity.

Avoid lots of clashing colours in your background, which can be confusing and unpleasant to the eye. You must also make sure the colour of the font contrasts with that of the background for ease of reading. If you have a dark font on a dark background, or light on light, the message on your banner will get lost. If you want to make one particular word in your banner stand out then you can make it stand out with a different colour to the rest, so long as it doesn’t clash with the background.

Stay visible

There is no point in putting all that effort into your banner or display if it is going to be obstructed by another stand. Make sure you give yourself enough height or prominence so people can see you. Using a reflective material for the banner will catch the light and all people will be able to see is a huge glare. Matt materials are better for visibility and you can use light to your advantage.